Tears
by angeltrap
Summary: When there are relationships to be meddled with, or tears to be dried, Matsuda is already on the way - whether his help is wanted or not. Fluffy matsudaness and LightxL


A/N: Alrighty! This is my way to celebrate the fact that I survived my entrance exams: two hours' worth of tired writing, resulting in this. This is very, very far from the best stories I've written but I kind of like it - it's cute, and it was easy and fun to write. Besides, the idea for this scene had been swimming around in my mind for weeks (effectively disturbing my courageous attempt to actually read for my exams), and it's always good to get an idea like that out of your system... If you're a reader of _I Won't Say_ - I hope to upload a new chapter within a week, before I leave to Japan, but it's far from ready and I'm going to be quite busy... So it might take a couple of weeks before I can update that one.

Anyhow, read, enjoy, and if you can live through the sugar and syrup, grace me with a comment! Thank you. :D Oh yeah! And I do think that K+ is quite enough for this one, but if you disagree, please say so. Changing the rating is not really that big of a deal. XD

**Tears**

Matsuda was having a great day. The sun was shining, birds were singing, children were laughing as they played tag on their way to school, and a soft breeze toyed with his longish hair in an undeniably movie-like, slow motionish fashion as he watched the kids go with a warm smile on his lips. It probably looked good, too.

His day turned from great to even better when he entered the Kira Investigation Building, ascended to their working floor, and passed their kitchen on his way to the investigation room. The door to the kitchen was slightly ajar, and he caught a glimpse of L standing there. All Matsuda-based movement (including what little happened in his brains) ceased as the young policeman realized that his co-worker was wiping his face with his white sleeve.

To be more exact, L was crying.

Like a good detective, Matsuda made a quick list of all possible reasons for the emotionally handicapped man's tears.

1. They had run out of cake.

2. Light had said or done something to upset L. (After all, Matsuda was convinced that they were together.)

3. Someone had died.

4. Excessive use of sugar had been declared illegal.

5. Light had really turned out to be Kira.

6. Watari had forced L to see a dentist.

He abandoned options 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 as illogical and improbable. That left him with his favorite: L and Light _were_ dating after all, and now they were in the middle of a major relationship crisis! Light had probably done something thoughtless, failing to consider his partner's inexperience in social life. (Matsuda, naturally, failed to consider Light's ability to take everything into account.)

Matsuda's heart skipped a beat, and then the gears in his mind set to move, and there was no longer stopping them. Holding his breath, he sneaked past the door to avoid being noticed, then sped through the corridors to the investigation room.

"Light-kun!" he exclaimed as he burst into their working space. His voice was a strange mixture of accusation and smugness. "What have you done now?"

The young man in question graced him with a blank face, and their colleagues turned to stare at them as well. "I have been working. Why?"

"You've made Ryuzaki cry!" Matsuda announced, hands on his hips and a strict frown on his face. For some reason he didn't look like a man angry at someone who hurt their friend, but more like a mother telling her son to go apologize to his crying baby brother immediately.

Light snorted mentally at the idea of Matsuda, wearing an apron, wielding a soup ladle and trying to keep a flock of wild children in order, before his co-workers' strange looks reminded him that he was being accused of something quite serious and difficult, if not downright supernatural: making Ryuzaki cry. "I have?"

"Of course you have!" Matsuda howled with feeling, going as far as pulling at his own hair. "He's crying in the kitchen! Why else would he do that if not because you've broken his fragile heart?"

Light paused. Then, hesitantly, he asked, "Are we talking about the same person? You know, the Hunchback of Notre Headquarters? That skinny guy with wide eyes and a black bird nest on top of his head?"

"No," Matsuda looked like his description of L had somehow dealt deadly damage to his idea of a sweet, romantic love he was convinced existed between the two youngest detectives. "I meant the young, sensitive man who looks like Snow White." Or a panda. But in this context, Snow White sounded better. "The one with delicate features, a skin so fair it looks translucent, and huge, dark eyes that look at the world with childlike curiosity – but yes, we're talking about the same person."

Light, his father, Aizawa and even Mogi were staring at Matsuda in disbelief. "I... see," Light said then, very, very slowly - much like one would approach a raging psychopath, or a wild animal: carefully, trying to appear non-threatening. "Well... why don't I go to the kitchen, then... to see what I can do, right?"

Matsuda was nodding so eagerly that Light feared his head might jump off his shoulders. "Yes! That's an excellent idea, Light-kun!"

And so Light fled, leaving Matsuda beaming at his colleagues with a victorious "I told you so" look on his face, apparently completely ignoring that they were shaking their heads at his antics – once again.

Like the older detective had said, he found L in the kitchen. To his shock, the raven-haired man really looked like he was crying, standing with his back to Light next to a counter, one hand raising frequently to sweep across his face.

"Ryuzaki?" he asked quietly, shuffling through the door. "Is everything alright?"

L gave a slight start but didn't turn. "Y-yes, Light-kun," he said, almost too quickly. "Everything is just fine. Why?"

He was holding a _knife_, Light realized and his eyes widened. Suddenly Matsuda's exaggerations didn't seem so unrealistic; after all, L was quite mysterious and kept his feelings to himself. Who knew if the guy actually went all emo and angsty the moment everyone else turned their backs?

"Bullshit," he replied rather harshly, grabbing the other detective by his narrow shoulders and jerking him around.

L stared at him with glossy, surprised eyes; tears flowed down his pale cheeks, and he looked like he was just about as freaked out by the situation as Light was.

"... What have I done?" Light whispered after a moment, raising his right hand to brush the tears from L's cheek. The older man's already impossibly wide eyes widened almost comically.

"Pardon?" L asked blankly.

Light blinked. "Well, I, uh, it was really an indirect question... meaning 'why are you crying', in case you didn't catch it."

More of that usual blank stare. Through tears, though, which wasn't at all usual. "I," L replied slowly, "was cutting..."

Aha! Light thought grimly. I knew it!

"... onion."

...

"What?" It was Light's turn to be blank.

L lifted the knife he was still holding and pointed over his shoulder. Light leaned forward to take a look; why yes, there indeed was a pile of sloppily chopped onion on the counter.

L raised his knifeless hand to scratch his head. "There was something in my left eye, and it wouldn't come out no matter what I did. I'm aware that making oneself cry by chopping onion is quite the cliché, but I couldn't come up with anything else. You might have already noticed that I'm not very practical with everyday life..."

Light leaned slightly back to stare into the detective's eyes. They were still glossy, but appeared now more confused than anything else; the raven-haired man was probably wondering why Light had come barging into the kitchen, and more importantly, why they were having this discussion. He looked at the hand still holding the knife, then at the pile of chopped onion, and finally back at L's teary face. Then the younger man burst out in laughter, holding L's shoulders in a tight grip to prevent himself from collapsing into a helpless, hysterically laughing heap. He didn't exactly want to appear like that much of a fool – like Matsuda. Unbelievable – the idiot had almost had him convinced that L was heartbroken over him!

L tilted his head, watching his laughing fit with a tentative smile on his lips, starting to chuckle lowly as well after a while. He still didn't know what was so funny, but well, hearing Light laugh from the bottom of his heart was as nice as it was rare.

He couldn't know, naturally, that Light was thinking, _he doesn't look all that bad; actually, he's pretty attractive. All teary-eyed, slightly confused and laughing, he looks more alive than I've ever seen him. I want to see him like this more often._

And that moment of enlightenment lead Light to take action he certainly hadn't seen coming, let alone planned. Still laughing, he hooked a finger under L's chin and brushed a quick, oddly caring kiss against his teary-salty-damp lips; and L froze, eyes widening once more.

But then Light chuckled again, wiping the last trails of tears from his friend's face, and slowly, L allowed his expression to soften as well; for once accepting what was happening as it was, without questioning.

In the corridor, four grown men were hiding behind the door to peek into the kitchen. Three quarters of them were currently quite speechless, while the remaining quarter radiated smugness.

"I knew they were together!" the aforementioned quarter clarified once again, as if everyone hadn't heard it already.

Chief Yagami looked like he wasn't sure whether to shake his head in amusement or to open and close his mouth like a fish; Mogi appeared slightly baffled but otherwise unbothered. Aizawa stared at Matsuda, wondering whether the man realized what he had just let loose. Dating teenagers were bad enough, but now they had a young genius couple at their hands – in addition to Kira. This was bound to get catastrophic. "... Matsuda, sometimes... I really wonder if you live in the same world as the rest of us."

* * *

Ha ha! :D I like Matsuda.


End file.
